Times have changed, and so has the title. But, it is still the same place where reflections of my colorful thoughts are scribbled. They are sometimes crazy and sometimes deep, but most often they do make sense when I pause and take a moment to write.

Search This Blog

Day 108: Random thoughts as I shop hop

As I walked in the mall this weekend, I had a gush of fleeting thoughts on human beings and consumption. As a person who loves the very smell of retail in every form, I am always drawn towards this beauty of human needs. I love retail therapy- any form, to fill up my shopping cart, or just walk round and window shop. I love it so much so that I have always wanted to work in retail space in some form or other. Now, at grad school, the researcher in me is curious about the human need for consumption, consumer behavior in the overarching realm of consumer culture. The symbolic meanings that people create and act upon towards the brands that mean something or everything to them attracts me. The changing face of consumption and blurring lines between in-store experience and virtual shop hop all make this entire space a brilliant and important part to study, observe, and watch out for. I love watching people as they pick their products, fill their shopping carts, play around the aisles making decisions, sometimes it is their needs and wants and most other times, an impulse.

Yes, we can always say its rational mind or logical mind that drives consumption. However, as much as there is a logic to that madness, there is a madness in that logic. These questions race my mind as I watch the colorful home decors, the kid-adult fantasy world of toys and games, the so-called comfort wear in bright and zillion shades, and even the glittering fantasies of accessories that call out to us as we peep in to take a look. That takes me to the other end of the spectrum- the materialistic values and how that changes our perceptions. Consumption and needs are like kaleidoscope. They are never the same, changes with every turn. However, there is a pattern to it. May be as humans we strive to create a balance between the so-called rational and irrational being in us but the jingling wallets and bright attires do give us a sense of freedom to seek, search, own, and be whatever we want. It might all be just fictitious but it is surely real in our world. Very real. Very alive.

Popular posts from this blog

Do you guys know about Manjadikuru ? They are the little red seeds. For anyone who is from God's own country or is familiar with Kerala wouldn't have missed this. There is something special about holding them, playing with these seeds. Usually, most homes will have a small 'uruli' or a bowl filled with these beautiful and shiny red seeds. In most Krishna temples in Kerala, you will come across a small 'uruli' with Manjadikuru. People believe that it is lucky to take these seeds with both hands and just play with them when you visit a temple. Some even leave a couple of coins as they do this. In Guruvayoor (my favorite place), you can see a big 'uruli' with manjadi.

So, why and how did this become prevalent ? It goes back to a story from the past. Many years ago, there lived a poor lady in northern Kerala. She was an ardent devotee of Lord Guruvayoorappan (Krishna) and always wanted to visit Guruvayoor. She could not afford to buy any offering (nived…

Dasan and Vijayan team is one of the most popular character pair in Malayalam movie fraternity. Every Malayalee will remember the dialogues from these movies. The pair of Lal-Sreenivasan as Dasan - Vijayan just brought (and still bring) smiles and simple joy among movie goers. Between Sathyan Anthikkad and Priyadarshan, there were three movies directed using the same team for the lead pair. With the script written by Sreenivasan himself, these movies have become immortal in the history of Malayalam cinema.
Among the set of 3 movies done using the combination, the first one was 'Nadodikkattu'. The picture that depicts the dialogue is from that movie. The second and third were 'Pattanapravesham' and 'Akkare Akkare Akkare'. Even though each movie was good this one is something very special. The dialogues are so popular that I don't think any of us would 'not' use them in everyday life.
This one given below is by Vijayan (played by Sreenivasan) that s…

Time for a recent movie context. This is one of my new favorite actor- Anushree. This scene is from a movie called Diamond Necklace. It is not a comedy movie but this specific actor's character does bring in innocence and sweetness that will make you smile. Why do I like her? Well, she has a beautiful knack to enact serious, comedy, strong roles with ease. She came into movies through a reality show and trust me she is a real find. This is her first one and she plays a small role as the protagonist's innocent wife. The innocence of 'Rajashree' just won so many hearts. The dialogue reads "Ende Arunettane manasilkkan ini vere aara ullathu" means "Now, who else is there to understand my Arun":) For those who understand the context you can smile, the rest, please go and watch this one :)

Who am i ?

Live life out of imagination and not History! Every flower has to grow through dirt and mud and i am now in the process of growing! Life is surely not a lovely dovely dream .Life is not all that good yet - Read, write, sing to dance and rejoice, for, Life has lot more reasons to smile!